Collapsible box and blank therefor



Feb. 5, 1929.

A. BERKOWITZ COLLAPSIBLE BOX AND BLANK THEREFOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1925 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Feb. 5, 1929..

A. BERKOWITZ COLLAPSIBLE BOX, AND BLANK :THEREFOR Filed 061.6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 5, 1929.

AARON BERKOWITZ, OF NEW YORK, N, Y;

COLLAPSIBLE BOX AND BLANK THEREFOR.

Application filed October 6, 1925. Serial No. 60,718.

This invention relates to boxes'or receptacles made ordinarily from cardboard or analogous material adapting the containers for the shipping of hats or other analogous merchandise in a strong and reliable manner and yet with the least possible expenditu-re consistent with the safety in which the goods may be transported.

Among the objects of the invention, dis- .tinguishing it from priorconstructions, is to make a' cardboard shipplng box in such a manner as to be constructed from asingle and substantially rectangular strip'or piece of stock;"to provide a box of the nature whose bottom and side walls are entirely without holes, slits, or openings; to provide a box of the naturetset forth whose bottom is of a single ply of material and with its perimeter formed integral with the adjacent side walls,

certain of which side walls serve to re-enforce and strengthen the bottom so as to prevent undesired flexure or collapse thereof from any external condition or circumstance when the box is filled and in use; to provide a collapsible box with integral cover so creased and formed as to be folded or collapsed readily for storage purposes, but which may be extended foruse with facility and after being so extended and with its cover secured in position y will be suitably braced and re-enforced not only for sustaining the weight carried by it, but to enable it to withstand a considerable amount of crushing strain that might be brought upon it due to stacking up of a considerable number of such devices; to provide a box having cover portions integral ,with certain of the side walls, said cover portions being closable toward each other and having a combined handle and interlock formed as a part thereof, and other advantages and objects will appear as this description progresse L With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for thepurposeof illustratinga prac tical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings in whichv like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- F igurel is a plan view of a blank for the construction of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

manner of assemblage of one ofthe side walls.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the box completely set up as when filled, one of the cover members being broken away and the other cover member in position approaching the final closed position.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the box collapsed, a portion being broken away as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the box completely closed and sealed.

Fig. is a bottom perspective view showing the manner of collapsing the device.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a blank showing a modified construction.

Fig. 8 is a set up illustration of the construction of Fig. 7, the cover members being omit-ted for the sake of clearness of understanding of the formation of the body of the box.

Referring now more specifically to-the first set of figures, I show a blank for the formation out of a single piece of material of a complete box having'a bottom A','vertical end walls B hinged to the bottom A along the Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail showing the I transverse hinge lines 10, other panels or side walls C hinged to the remaining sides ofthe bottom along the lines 11, the end portions 0 of the panels C being hinged to the side edges of the. wall panel B along extensions 11 of the lines 11,' and a pair of cover members D and D hinged to the respective end walls B along the transverse lines 12. parallel to the creases 10. For the sake ,of description the lines 11 may be regarded as bein longitudinal or lengthwise of the blank, as istinguished from the transverse lines above, and midway between said crease lines 11 and parallel thereto is a central longitudinal crease 13 extending from the extreme end of one cover member to the extreme end of the other. Likewise the creases 11 are preferably formed of the full tangular in outline so that there is but little waste of material in the formation of the structure. L

While the box bottom A is sho'wnas perlength of the blank which is practically recfectly square, it is obvious that the invention is not necessarily so restricted in practice. Said bottom panel is creased diagonally as shown at 14, these creases intersecting each other and the central crease 13 at the center of the box bottom. From the ends of the creases 14, at the bottom corners of the box, creases 15 are extended outward to the side edges of the blank, the creases 15 for each side wall C being shown in Fig. 1 as converging toward each other and formed at right angles to the lines 14 from which theyrespectively extend. In Fig. 7 however, the corresponding crease lines 15 consist of extensions of the crease lines 14and hence diverge from each other in each of the panels or side walls C. The sides walls B have no oblique or transverse creases or breaks. Likewise the panels C-in both forms shown when set up are effectually uncreased and unbroken, while the vertical-panels B are creased vertically for the purpose of collapse as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. Each panel 0 comprises a central portion and two end portions q or a, the three portions constituting a unitary wall, Twithout creases or breaks, when set up.

The manner of assembling the box from the blank of Fig. 1 may be described as follows, considering the visible surface of the.

, blank as the inside surface of the box: Each wall panel B and the cover portion attached thereto alon the bending line 12 will be understood as being bent upward into vertical position around the bending line 10. The extensions 10 of thehinge lines 10 will swing upward and inward and thence downward so as to register with the lines 11 as shown in Fig. 2, the rectangular corner panels 0 coming in pairs into placdasin'Fig. 2 to form the-main rectangular portion of the-respec tive side wall 0, the edges of these corner panels remote from the vertical hinge lines 11 overlapping sufficiently for fasteners such as staples, rivets, or their equivalent. The triangular sections of the panel C between the diagonal lines 15 and extension lines 10 fold upward and inward and thence downward directly upon the intermediate triangular section having the tab 17, these small triangular sections lying in the same plane and with their free edges just meeting at 18. The thus folded triangular portion of each wall C is then swung upward around the registering bending lines 11 and 10 from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Figs. 3 and 15 where the parts of each side wall are rigidly and strongly secured in permanent attachment with one another. As a variation from this method of folding the parts it will be understood that the central; triangular member mi ht be folded upward first around the bending line 11 and the pair of smaller triangular sections would thus be folded downward around the firstmentioned triangle, and the rectangular end pieces 0 may be brought into overlapping relation on the outside of the box. This is one illustration of various modes of procedure that might be followed, but the essential principles of-the invention would remain the same. It will thus be seen, however, that the cutting of the blank and the attachment of the other parts for the assembly of the box are exceed ingly simple, requiring little effort and fastening means.

.For, close nesting purposes as when the boxes are shipped or kept in stock so as to oc= cupy a small amount of space, each box is collapsible or foldable as shown in F1g. 4 into substantially flat form, andlto effect this result reference is, had to Fig. 6 indicating how the bottom panel behaves. The center of the bottom is projected directly upward surfaces of the small triangular sections a,v

while the side walls C come directly against said sections a, touching the surfaces .that constitute the inner surfaces of the bottom when the box is set up. 'Each top section follows the course of the connected end wall B, each half thereof constitutin an extension and lying in the same plane with the attached half of. the end wall B.

Each top section is provided with a pair llNl of flaps E connected to the respective adjacent portions of the same along bending lines 18 which are in effect extensions of the lines 11. Along the free edge of each of these flaps is formed a hook which when the box is set up and closed projects downwardand-hooks under the fastener 19 extended through the tab 17 coincident with the assembly of the vertical side panels 0.

'These parts of. course areso proportioned that they will hook snugly into place and be self retained by frictional contact with one another. As an additional locking means and to provide a handle for carrying the box the top memberD is provided with a slit 20 extending across the center of the 1 top and through which a handle 21 cut'from the-member D is projected upward when the two top portions are swung into closed position.

i It will thus be seen that I have produced an effective strong and reliable shipping box ,made from asingle pieceof stock and which includes an interlocking top or cover portion includlng a handle for carrying the box.

Obviously certain of these features may be omitted in some constructions or might be changed in construction if desired. The

box may be used repeatedly and refolded or collapsed after being used depending upon the quality of the material to withstand repeated manipulation.

The variation in construction illustrated in .Figs. 7 and'8, having reference particularly to the main body of the box without the top but which may have a top as ex-' plained above if desired, thediagonal lines 15 instead of converging in pairs adjacent to the center of each panel C are extended at 15 as direct extensions of the bottom crease lines 14 and s0 diverge from each other across said panels C. These lines 15 therefore extend across diagonally. the corner panels a, leaving the main portion of each panel C as an unbroken rectangle. The manner of holding or assembling this box is or may be substantially the same as described in detail above, and as before intimated, this box may or may not have a cover as desired. The illustration in Fig. 8 shows how the smaller triangular portions are bent inward while the upper portions of the end panels C overlap and join with each other on the outside of the structure. The hooks for the cover when used in this form of the invention will engage in the crotch or V formed by the overlapping corner portions 0.

I bottom can not.

From the collapsed position as shown in Fig. 4, to open up the box, the operator has simply to turn it bottom side up and with the thumb and first finger of each hand grasping the reentrant angles, he will pull these angular portions apart as shown by the arrows in Fig. 6 which has the immediate effect of flattening each end wall B and at the same time the entire bottom panel is fiattened. The box will then be stood upright for packing. I wish particularly to point out in this connection that the cover sections D and D which constitute extensions of the end walls B, when closed as in Fig. 5, will insure positively. the inward collapse of the end walls B for the reason that the top members when in their normal horizontal position' rigidify the end walls B because of the integral connection between them and make it impossible for the weakened line 13 to flex in anydirection. From'this it follows that if the end walls B can not collapse, the The bottom even though of only one ply has no tendency to sag downward and it 1s impossible for it to so sag because of the integral connection with the side and end walls all the way around the perimeter of the bottom. 'Of course the bottom can not flex upward at its center for the same reason.

'Eaeh wall C when in the assembled position and fastened is exceedingly rigid, being well braced and re-enforced by the triangular central sections having the tabs 17. In fact a single fastener at 19 may in most cases be employed for fastening the several sections which form the respective walls C. Again, the hooks E which serve to hold the cover members closed have a corresponding function in confining and holding the walls C in rigid upright position, making a further re-enforce or means to prevent spreading or other distortion of the box when in set up or in filled position.

I claim: I

1. A collapsible box of the character set forth formed from a unitary blank, said blank having a pair of parallel longitudinal creases and a pair of parallel transverse creases, said creases defining bottom and side and end walls, the blank beingv creased lat- 'erally from the pair of creases first mentioned, 80 said lateral creases being oblique with respect to the first mentioned creases, forming triangular portions of the side walls, said triangular portions being foldable with respect to said'lateral oblique creases in the assembled box and upward from the bottom thereof forming superposed re-enforcing plies for said side walls, fasteners locking said plies together at one point at a side of the box, and members extending from the top of one end wall to the other to form a cover, said cover having means for interlocking the members and forming a handle for the box, said cover having flapsfor engagement with said fas teners.

2. A box asset forth made from a single blank of material; said blank having a pair of parallel longitudinal creases and a pair of parallel transverse creases defining a bottom and side and end walls, the portions of the stock beyond the longitudinal creases and constituting the side walls being obliquely and transversely creased to form foldable and overlapping triangular portions adjacent to the bottom portions of the side walls remote from each other in the blank being brought together in the assemblage, and a single fastening means at each side'of' the box securing, said triangular portions together, and a plurality of oppositely arranged cover members integral with the stock between the longitudinal creases .and each having interlocking connection at both sides of the box with said fastening means.

3. A collapsible cardboard box as set forth made from a single piece of material so creased and folded as to provide a bottom panel and a plurality of side and end walls integral therewith and with one another, portions of the side walls being foldable upon 125 themselves to bring such side walls into angular relation with the bottom panel, a single fastening means at each side of the box to secure the folded portions together, and cover portions integral with the end walls and having interlocking. connection with the side walls and the fastening means interlocking said portions. a

4:. The herein described collapsible box comprising bottom and side and end wall panels all formed from a single blank, the sidewall panels being formed by the folding and overlapping of certain triangular members, a metallic fastening for said triangular members at each side of the box to constitute the members a strong rigid re-enforcing means for such walls, and cover portions for the box integral with the end wall panels, each of said cover portions having interlocking engagement with said fastening at the sides of the box, one of said cover portions having a handle for the box and the other a slit to receive said handle, to interlock the cover portions together.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

AARON 'BERKOWITZ. 

